Welcome!

Hello, all!  Welcome to my blog, where I will be posting my research in the field of human metabolism and how it can be manipulated to treat chronic disease.

I will be working with Dr. John Walker, the founder of the Walker Clinic of Health and Wellness, who will teach me the ins and outs of a healthy metabolism, along with the treatment of chronic diseases such as diabetes involving diet.

From what I’ve learned in my AP Biology course, metabolism is simply the body’s method of breaking down the sugars we eat into usable energy.  A lot of this energy comes from eating carbohydrates—the sugars present in breads, grains, and a lot of sweet fruit and vegetables.  As I learned from Dr. Walker, there are good carbohydrates and bad carbohydrates; when a person eats too many bad carbohydrates they can develop something called “ectopic fat,” which is stored in muscles.  People with Type II Diabetes have too much of this fat and, due to an insulin resistance, can’t pass sugars out through their kidneys.

I chose this project because I am very interested to learn about the interactions between diet and biochemistry.  Through my research, I will be able to see firsthand the actual and applicable results of a low-sugar diet on the management and treatment of Type II Diabetes, as well as the effects of this on a healthy guinea pig—myself.  Along with medical students, I’m going to be able to learn more about the specific body chemistry responsible for metabolism, as well as the effects on the body from cell communication and epigenetics.